Latest news with #NYSED
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Israel-Palestine Conflict' section of study guide for New York high schoolers draws outrage
A New York State Regents Exam study guide intended for 10th graders is making the rounds on social media over its section on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the guide's section on "Decolonization and Nationalism" — which happens to be Unit 10.7 — the section gives its definition of Zionism and includes notes on the United Nations Partition Plan and acts of terrorism. The widely criticized guide calls Zionism an "example of extreme nationalism" and defines it as the "belief that Jews need a homeland in Palestine." Additionally, its example under the category of "Acts of Terrorism by Israel & Palestine" is "settler movement by Jews taking away land from Palestinians." Student Calls Out Elite University Staffing And Costs Before House Judiciary Committee Half Hollow Hills Central School District Interim Superintendent Brian Conboy addressed the issue at a Board of Education meeting on Monday. He said that the material in question was neither created nor approved by the Social Studies Department or the district. He also noted that the material was created before Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre. "As planned and previously discussed, the HHH Social Studies Department will be meeting to conduct curriculum writing over the next two months to address these exact topics. Moving forward, all curriculum relating to these issues, both historical and modern, will be district-wide and vetted by an outside group of experts in the field," Conboy said. He assured parents that all teachers in Global Studies 10 would use "the same materials and language" on this topic next school year. "On behalf of the district, I want you all to know that offensive and inaccurate materials such as this do not meet our standards of excellence and are not something we take lightly. We can and will do better moving forward," Conboy concluded. Read On The Fox News App Jewish Family's Peace Shattered As Neighbor Is Accused Of Hate-fueled Attack The New York State Education Department (NYSED) Spokesperson JP O'Hare acknowledged the issue in a statement online and clarified that it "does not create or distribute curriculum or study guides." O'Hare also said NYSED would "continue to monitor and take appropriate action as needed." In response to a Fox News Digital request for comment, O'Hare seemed to take a swipe at critics, saying NYSED takes "issue with anyone attempting to cloak misinformation in the guise of combating antisemitism. That's not advocacy, it's manipulation." Despite the school district and NYSED statements on the issue, the study guide has drawn backlash from both sides of the aisle with Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., and Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., condemning the academic materials. Federal Judge Sides Against Jewish Students Who Sued Upenn Over Antisemitism Torres said the guide "demonizes Zionism" while failing to "label as extreme the anti-Zionist ideology that inspired the October 7th massacre—the belief that Jews should be violently expelled from the land of Israel." "Anti-Israel indoctrination under the guise of academic instruction is one of the pathologies of modern education," Torres wrote in a post on X. Stefanik — who some believe is preparing to launch a bid for New York governor — slammed N.Y. Gov. Kathy Hochul and Democrats. "This New York State Regent Exam is a disgraceful example of the rampant and persistent indoctrination of our children in the K-12 education system perpetrated by radical far-left Democrats," Stefanik said in a statement to Fox News Digital. She also posted a similar message on X, claiming the "aging antisemitism in New York is appeased and promoted by Kathy Hochul and her failing antisemitic NY Democrat Party." Auburn Basketball Coach Accuses Carville Of Spreading 'Hatred' With Statements About Jewish Donors In response to a Fox News Digital request for comment on the study materials, Hochul's office said that the NYSED was responsible for the Regents Exam. However, they also noted Hochul's repeated condemnations of antisemitism and actions taken to combat it, including convening "the first-ever summit on antisemitism in education." Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust Director Anne Bayefsky said that, "such indoctrination perpetuates antisemitism." She slammed the guide for teaching hate over "tolerance, respect and coexistence." "Anti-Zionism is a form of antisemitism because it teaches that Jewish self-determination is a wrong — instead of the realization of a basic human right. It is time to connect the dots between teaching hate inside the schools and the violence on our streets," Bayefsky told Fox News Digital. As of this writing, the original source of the study guide remains unclear, with neither NYSED nor the school district attributing it to anyone in particular. According to Michelle Herman, a parent at Half Hollow Hills High School East, one teacher who distributed the material did not realize what was in it and has since apologized. Herman emphasized that she does not blame the teacher for the article source: 'Israel-Palestine Conflict' section of study guide for New York high schoolers draws outrage
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
McMahon launches probe into New York over ordered removal of Native American school mascot
Education Secretary Linda McMahon launched a probe into New York State's Education Department (NYSED) and the state Board of Regents for threatening to pull funding from the Massapequa School District over its refusal to end its use of a Native American mascot. Earlier this week, President Trump weighed in to support the school district. 'Forcing them to change the name, after all of these years, is ridiculous and, in actuality, an affront to our great Indian population. The School Board, and virtually everyone in the area, are demanding the name be kept,' the president wrote about the district's high school, which is known as the Massapequa Chiefs, in a Truth Social post. The Native American Guardians Association (NAGA) filed a complaint with the Education Department's Office of Civil Rights claiming the NYSED violated federal civil rights laws. 'The U.S. Department of Education will not stand by as the state of New York attempts to rewrite history and deny the town of Massapequa the right to celebrate its heritage in its schools,' McMahon said in a statement regarding the matter. 'While New York chooses to prioritize erasing Native Americans, their rich history, and their deep connection to the state, it is requiring schools to divert time and resources away from what really matters: educating our students,' she continued. McMahon argued that several mascots refer to indigenous or ethnic groups including the Minnesota Vikings and Notre Dame's Fighting Irish, but claimed New York 'singled out' Native American heritage specifically adding that the matter would be 'fully' investigated. Trump, in his Monday Truth Social post, also questioned the move given the popularity of the Kansas City Chiefs. 'It has become the School's identity and, what could be wrong with using the name, 'Chief'?' he wrote. 'I don't see the Kansas City Chiefs changing their name anytime soon!' A spokesperson from the state's Education Department told The Hill it has not received any official communication from the federal government on the matter. 'However, the U.S. Department of Education's attempt to interfere with a state law concerning school district mascots is inconsistent with Secretary McMahon's March 20, 2025 statement that she is 'sending education back to the states where it so rightly belongs,'' spokesperson JP O'Hare added. 'Massapequa has already filed, and lost, a lawsuit regarding this issue. We have encouraged the Massapequa school community to consult with local Indigenous representatives, who had the following to say on this issue,' he added. In 2023, state officials issued a directive requiring school districts to eliminate mascots that appear to appropriate Native American culture or risk losing state funding. A state judge dismissed the district's lawsuit challenging the directive last month. The New York Post reported the school board then asked the Trump administration to intervene. 'We are not a symbol, we are not history, we exist today. To some Native children, it is hurtful to see those mascots, and you would not understand that necessarily unless you grew up in a Native community.' Germain Smith, Former Shinnecock Tribal Councilman, said in a statement on the issue. In 1644, the Massapequa Massacre was undertaken by Governor Willem Kieft, who hired 25,000 guilders to kill and drive Native Americans from the area where the town now stands. 'It is ironic that a Town that has a history of killing the local Indigenous population should now claim as a tradition a fake image of those very same people,' Harry Wallace, chief of the Unkechaug Indian Nation, said in a statement on the debate. Kerry Watcher, president of the Massapequa Board of Education, has pushed back on the mandate and said the state's effort to remove the mascot does not 'advance learning.' She thanked the Trump administration for investigating the matter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
26-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
McMahon launches probe into New York over ordered removal of Native American school mascot
Education Secretary Linda McMahon launched a probe into New York State's Education Department (NYSED) and the state Board of Regents for threatening to pull funding from the Massapequa School District over its refusal to end its use of a Native American mascot. Earlier this week, President Trump weighed in to support the school district. 'Forcing them to change the name, after all of these years, is ridiculous and, in actuality, an affront to our great Indian population. The School Board, and virtually everyone in the area, are demanding the name be kept,' the president wrote about the district's high school, which is known as the Massapequa Chiefs, in a Truth Social post. The Native American Guardians Association (NAGA) filed a complaint with the Education Department's Office of Civil Rights claiming the NYSED violated federal civil rights laws. 'The U.S. Department of Education will not stand by as the state of New York attempts to rewrite history and deny the town of Massapequa the right to celebrate its heritage in its schools,' McMahon said in a statement regarding the matter. 'While New York chooses to prioritize erasing Native Americans, their rich history, and their deep connection to the state, it is requiring schools to divert time and resources away from what really matters: educating our students,' she continued. McMahon argued that several mascots refer to indigenous or ethnic groups including the Minnesota Vikings and Notre Dame's Fighting Irish, but claimed New York 'singled out' Native American heritage specifically adding that the matter would be 'fully' investigated. Trump, in his Monday Truth Social post, also questioned the move given the popularity of the Kansas City Chiefs. 'It has become the School's identity and, what could be wrong with using the name, 'Chief'?' he wrote. 'I don't see the Kansas City Chiefs changing their name anytime soon!' A spokesperson from the state's Education Department told The Hill it has not received any official communication from the federal government on the matter. 'However, the U.S. Department of Education's attempt to interfere with a state law concerning school district mascots is inconsistent with Secretary McMahon's March 20, 2025 statement that she is 'sending education back to the states where it so rightly belongs,'' spokesperson JP O'Hare added. 'Massapequa has already filed, and lost, a lawsuit regarding this issue. We have encouraged the Massapequa school community to consult with local Indigenous representatives, who had the following to say on this issue,' he added. In 2023, state officials issued a directive requiring school districts to eliminate mascots that appear to appropriate Native American culture or risk losing state funding. A state judge dismissed the district's lawsuit challenging the directive last month. The New York Post reported the school board then asked the Trump administration to intervene. 'We are not a symbol, we are not history, we exist today. To some Native children, it is hurtful to see those mascots, and you would not understand that necessarily unless you grew up in a Native community.' Germain Smith, Former Shinnecock Tribal Councilman, said in a statement on the issue. In 1644, the Massapequa Massacre was undertaken by Governor Willem Kieft, who hired 25,000 guilders to kill and drive Native Americans from the area where the town now stands. 'It is ironic that a Town that has a history of killing the local Indigenous population should now claim as a tradition a fake image of those very same people,' Harry Wallace, chief of the Unkechaug Indian Nation, said in a statement on the debate. Kerry Watcher, president of the Massapequa Board of Education, has pushed back on the mandate and said the state's effort to remove the mascot does not 'advance learning.' She thanked the Trump administration for investigating the matter.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Schools get unclear DEI directive from fed
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Education sent a letter to state education departments requesting every school district in the country sign a certification that they are not using diversity, equity and inclusion programs that are deemed discriminatory by the federal government, or they could face the federal government cutting their funds. USDOE asked state education departments to sign a 'reminder of legal obligations' within 10 days to confirm that they are not giving unfair advantages to people based on race, and to gather signatures from school districts. The particular funds at state are Title I grants — which are grants for low-income students. Local school superintendents said the U.S. Education Department's letter is unclear, vague and leaves the scope and specifics of 'impermissible' DEI programs undefined. New York's Education Department has responded with a letter to USDOE, saying the federal government's request is redundant and lacking authority. The legal ground cited for the USDOE order is Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, as well as a 2023 Supreme Court ruling involving Harvard University which overturned affirmative action admissions practices in colleges. DEI OBJECTIONS Trump's administration considers certain DEI practices to violate the Civil Rights Act. 'Many schools have advanced discriminatory policies and practices under the banner of 'DEI' initiatives,' USDOE alleges, saying white and Asian American students are sometimes discriminated against in education. NYSED said USDOE does not have the legal authority to make such a demand, that its basis for this directive was 'conflating policy with law' and that New York school districts already follow the Civil Rights Act. 'Given the fact that you are already in possession of guarantees by NYSED that it has and will comply with Title VI, no further certification will be forthcoming,' NYSED Deputy Commissioner Daniel Morton-Bentley wrote. 'We understand that the current administration seeks to censor anything it deems '(DEI.)' But there are no federal or state laws prohibiting the principles of DEI.' On Friday, Lake Placid Central School District Superintendent Tim Seymour said his district's legal counsel received a message from the state saying the districts will not be required to respond individually to the federal government's demands, but that it would be a question to be resolved between the state and the federal government. The districts have not received the letter themselves. The letters went to state education chiefs, who are asked to then collect the signatures from every school district. Ultimately, if districts were to respond, it would be up to the boards of education whether to sign it or not. The state is advising against signing it, saying the federal government has yet to define what practices would be considered violations, and that the directive is based on USDOE's interpretation of the law, which is not the same as a law. 'NYSED is unaware of any authority that USDOE has to demand that a state education agency agree to its interpretation of a judicial decision or change the terms and conditions of NYSED's award without formal administrative process,' Morton-Bentley wrote. Saranac Lake Central School District Superintendent Diane Fox was not surprised by this announcement. She's been prepared for it. When she presented the tentative school budget last month, she noted the district was preparing for this exact situation. While Trump's administration is working to dismantle the DOE and federal officials say the department's grant funds will still be available, Fox had anticipated that they may be smaller or come with 'strings attached.' These are the strings. SLCSD's tentative budget already shifted the positions funded by these federal grants into the general budget in anticipation of something going awry, absorbing around $400,000 to keep special education, counseling and academic intervention staff next year without having to rely on these grants to fund those positions. Fox said, as the budget approaches a vote on Wednesday, things are 'murky as best' again with the new directive. 'The federal requirement is not exact in what they are looking for when they talk about DEI programs,' Fox said. 'They have not clearly spelled out what is on the OK list and what is not on the OK list.' Define DEI What counts as DEI? It's unclear. With the scope of potential 'impermissible' DEI practices unknown, school leaders don't want to agree to something without knowing what it is. 'I don't have an opinion when you ask whether or not I'll sign the letter because I haven't really seen what the letter is asking me to sign,' Fox said. The directive's cited DEI targets are mostly things don't seem to apply to public K-12 schools — scholarships, financial aid, administrative support, housing and graduation ceremonies. It was unclear as of press time Friday night whether this directive applies to North Country Community College, a New York state college in Saranac Lake. One big question is if this applies to curriculum. Education Secretary Linda McMahon previously said in her Senate confirmation hearing that she wasn't sure if a Black history class might violate the DEI policy and that she'd have to 'fully understand the breadth of the executive order' to answer that. Later, the department said not all race-focused classes would violate their new guidelines, but some would. The department also said things like Black History Month celebrations or programs focused on specific cultures would be OK, 'so long as they do not engage in racial exclusion or discrimination.' 'Federal financial assistance is a privilege, not a right,' USDOE acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in a statement. 'When state education commissioners accept federal funds, they agree to abide by federal antidiscrimination requirements. Unfortunately, we have seen too many schools flout or outright violate these obligations, including by using DEI programs to discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another based on identity characteristics.' Roger Catania, the region's local Board of Regents representative, said the SCOTUS case cited in the order was about college admissions and the USDOE was trying to use it expansively to say that any representation of student background is discriminatory. He said this is 'misinterpreting' the decision and then going way beyond it. 'What the state Education Department said adheres to the law, and what the federal government said does not. That's the bottom line,' Catania said. 'They're making use of the culture war language to try to put public school districts on their heels.' There's several situations that could happen here. The state could ask districts not to sign it, the boards could not agree to sign it, the boards could sign it and then be found in violation of it. Fox said the district has state DEI requirements it must meet. 'WE DON'T LIKE UNCERTAINTY' Catania said this puts districts in a bind between the law and the federal government asking them to go beyond the law by threatening funding, and that district officials feel nervous, especially since they are all currently crafting their budgets. 'I've made school budgets before,' Catania, the former LPCSD superintendent, said. 'We don't like uncertainty.' He said the Title I federal funding is established by law and approved by Congress. If districts do lose funding, he's sure it would be challenged in court and he believes the districts would win, but no one wants to have to go through that. Morton-Bentley said this directive marks 'an abrupt shift from USDOE's position on DEI during the first Trump administration,' when then-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said diversity and inclusion are 'cornerstones' and 'key elements for success.' The Education Department last month introduced an 'End DEI' portal where people can report discriminatory practices based on race or sex at public schools to get the department to investigate and potentially cut funding. Seymour stands by his district's current policies, saying they have always abided by Title VI. 'We have and continue to be nondiscriminatory in our policies and practices,' he said. 'Our focus remains on providing the very best education for our students.' LPCSD receives about $150,000 per year for Title I funding. It goes towards things like reading support and materials that help support low-income students. The district has a budget of about $23.1 million, the vast majority of which is funded by the local tax levy, so the district would be in a position to recoup any theoretical losses from federal funding, Seymour said. Fox said none of the DEI work at SLCSD meets the label of being 'discriminatory.' 'Absolutely not,' she said. At SLCSD, she said DEI means everybody feels like they belong and are put on equal footing. She said it's not about putting one group over another, but inviting everyone in. When it comes to hiring practices, and Fox said SLCSD has a 'big table' for anyone to sit at. When it comes to curriculum, Fox said she is holding the line and told teachers to keep teaching what they are free to do. SLCSD, like many districts in New York, has a DEI committee. SLCSD's committee was actually created before the state recommended every district have one, after its 2020 valedictorian Francine 'Frannie' Newman used her valedictory address to talk about racism she endured during school as an Asian student. The committee has met monthly since then. Fox said when they started, nobody was doing anything specifically DEI-related. In the years since, they've hired staff, drafted policies and increased DEI work to make sure all students fell welcome and accepted at school.
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New York officials push back after Trump administration threatens funds over DEI
April 6 (UPI) -- New York State education officials are pushing back against the Trump administration after it gutted U.S. Department of Education and said it would withhold federal funding from public schools that have diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Daniel Morton-Bentley, the deputy commissioner for legal affairs for the New York State Education Department, penned a letter Friday that was obtained by UPI informing federal education officials they would not comply with the Trump administration's DEI orders. Morton-Bentley asserted in the letter that the NYSED "does and will" comply with the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But he questioned the authority of the federal government to strongarm state agencies. "NYSED is unaware of any authority that USDOE has to demand that a state education agency agree to its interpretation of a judicial decision or change the terms and conditions of NYSED's award without formal administrative process," Morton-Bentley wrote. "We understand that the current administration seeks to censor anything it deems 'diversity, equity and inclusion.' But there are no federal or state laws prohibiting the principles of DEI." Morton-Bentley pointed out that the original U.S. Education Department letter, sent Thursday, is unsigned and appears not to have been issued in compliance with the federal law. He also noted comments from former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who served in Trump's first administration, calling diversity and inclusion "cornerstones of high organizational performance." The Trump administration's letter was sent to state and local education agencies around the country. The letter said that it served as a "reminder of legal obligations" for receiving federal funding under Title VI and required local and state education agencies to certify with the federal government that it would comply with its interpretation of federal law. To make its point, the Trump administration referenced the June 2023 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that held that race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, effectively ending the use of affirmative action in college admissions. Like New York, Mayor Brandon Johnson told reporters on Friday that Chicago would file a lawsuit against the Trump administration if it took away its funding, the Chicago Tribune reported. "We're not going to be intimidated by these threats," Johnson said. "It's just that simple. So, whatever it is that this tyrant is trying to do to this city, we're going to fight back." Education Secretary Linda McMahon has not specified what qualifies as a civil rights law violation. "Federal financial assistance is a privilege, not a right," Craig Trainor, the department's acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said in a statement to NPR. "When state education commissioners accept federal funds, they agree to abide by federal antidiscrimination requirements. Unfortunately, we have seen too many schools flout or outright violate these obligations, including by using DEI programs to discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another based on identity characteristics."
